Fourth Layer, Immortal Cooking Realm.
A graceful, slender figure floated over…
City Lord Meng Qi landed in front of a delicate courtyard, which had a leisurely and peaceful air. Around her, there were many spirit trees, whose leaves gently fluttered against the breeze.
Looking at the tranquil courtyard, City Lord Meng Qi had a hard time maintaining her smile…
"Looks like I'm late… That dog is really…" City Lord Meng Qi shook her head begrudgingly. She didn't know whether she should cry or smile.
There was no resentment nor grudge between her and Lord Dog. Quite the contrary, she got a better relationship with Lord Dog than the other City Lords.
Anyway, that year… she and Lord Dog had some story they couldn't tell anyone.
It was when Lord Dog had just arrived at the Immortal Cooking Realm…
As City Lord Meng Qi recalled those memories, she clasped her hands, walking to her treasure room.
The treasure room was completely in a mess, and it was clear that the immortal ingredients and spirit herbs were all stolen. However, Lord Dog didn't pay attention to some immortal tools.
Apparently, to Lord Dog, he just needed immortal ingredients and spirit herbs.
Walking out of the treasure room, City Lord Meng Qi stood in the yard. The towers, pavilion, and even the quietly running stream couldn't calm her down.
"I heard from the other City Lords that Lord Dog has some strange relationship with that restaurant's owner… and that owner is participating in the Immortal Chef Tournament right now. I should go and watch the tournament. If he has some special relationship with Lord Dog, let me see how special he is."
City Lord Meng Qi's red lips curved, her cold face revealing a faint smile.
Then, she strode forward, tearing the void to get to the fifth layer of the Immortal Cooking Realm.
…
After City Lord Feng's rage burst out, with a pair of red eyes, he punched and broke a drawer in his treasure pavilion. Thick energy fumed from his mouth and nostrils.
"That damn dog… did steal the Qilin Chef's heart. That heart couldn't be exposed. I must force that dog."
City Lord Feng's eyes turned malicious. Then, he strode out of his treasure pavilion.
"Tong Wudi from the first layer said that the dog and that restaurant's owner had some relation… Since I can't find that dog, I must capture the chef. That will force the damn dog to show up!
"Hmm… I must go to the Immortal Chef Tournament."
…
"Whose dish goes first?" A judge grabbed his chopsticks, smiling at the other judges.
All of the four dishes looked good. They had triggered three lightning punishments, and at the same time, the dishes had really thick immortal energy winding around them.
"Hmm… How about we taste this one first?" suggested a judge.
The other judges agreed immediately.
Little Di Tai rolled his eyes at the four old men, muttering under his breath. This group of old morons wanted to exclude him?
Of course, the group of judges didn't dare to look down on Little Di Tai. They let him try all four dishes.
After that, Little Di Tai nodded in satisfaction. Those old fellows got good sense.
A judge walked to Dongfang Huo's food.
Dongfang Huo's dish was called Nine Turn Roast Chicken, which was a scarlet roast dressed with brown sauce.
Steam and aroma diffused from the chicken together with surging, rolling immortal energy.
The judge eyed the roast chicken, observing meticulously for a while. Then, he dropped his chopsticks, rolling his sleeves. He grabbed the chicken thigh, pulling it out.
Swish.
The roast chicken's thigh was pulled, parted from the body. At the same time, the elastic skin was still intact.
The chicken meat was like silk as it was pulled as steam and aroma erupted from there.
The thick, condensed brown sauce oozed down as the thigh was taken away.
"I'll use my hands to eat this. It brings a good feeling!"
The judge stroked his white beard with his other hand, beaming. Then, he filled his mouth with the chicken thigh.
As soon as his teeth sank into the meat, the soft meat was cut off. It felt so soft and smooth in his mouth.
A thick aroma arose together with essence energy, which seemed to float in the old man's mouth.
The chicken skin was so flexible, touching his mouth as he sucked it in. The old man's brows twitched once.
"Not bad! It has precise heat control. This Nine Turn Roast Chicken… did experience nine times of heat changing."
The judge gave his comment while eating.
"The sauce got a special taste, though. It seems to be made of minced meat of spirit beasts together with eighteen kinds of immortal ingredients… While eating, I can feel the change in flavors."
The judge stuck his tongue out, licking the sauce on the chicken thigh. He smacked his tongue as he exclaimed.
Around him…
The audience watched the judge eating to his heart's content. They couldn't help but gulp, having a big urge to try the dish.
That roast chicken was something that could stimulate people's appetite easily.
Chomp. Chomp.
That judge ate fast. Shortly, the chicken thigh became only a bone, which he threw on the table.
"Anyway, it still has some flaws… Taking everything into consideration, it can be one of the top dishes among the First Grade Immortal Chefs' products."
The judge gave his final conclusion.
While the judge was giving his conclusion, Little Di Tai took the other chicken thigh, shoving it into his mouth.
"Um… It doesn't taste bad, but that's just it," Little Di Tai said after chewing and swallowing it. After finishing the thigh, he spat the bone on the table, grinning.
In the distance, after the judge assessed the Nine Turn Roast Chicken, Dongfang Huo felt good. But now, hearing Little Di Tai, his face darkened.
"This is Zhou Kuangliu's dish, also a roast chicken. It's called Scarlet Fiery Roast Chicken…" another cold and arrogant judge said casually.
It could be said that Dongfang Huo and Zhou Kuangliu had the same idea. However, it didn't matter as it all boils down to the taste.
The judge pulled off a chicken thigh. The chicken meat looked as though it had some fire sparking on it.
So this is the Scarlet Fiery thing…
"Good exterior with nothing inside..." The judge shook his head. He didn't compliment that effect.
He then tasted the chicken. After having a bite, he frowned.
It didn't feel bad. Perhaps Zhou Kuangliu had done something to the skin that made it feel soft and crunchy.
However, when he bit it, it wasn't as elastic as he had imagined. It was torn easily.
The meat under the skin was juicy, and it was soft and smooth. The aroma rose together with steam.
In general, it looked similar to Dongfang Huo's dish, but there was a different feeling between them.
Meanwhile, the large light screen projected the Scarlet Fiery Roast Chicken. It was steaming hot, and its skin shone magnificently.
Despite the judges' assessment, the audience still had a great appetite.
Little Di Tai came and took the other thigh.
Shoving the chicken thigh into his mouth, he chewed for a while. Eventually, he placed the bone on the table with a thud.
He smacked his tongue…
"Hmm… Also roast chicken. The taste is good. Anyway, if I need to say who wins, it should be the Nine Turn Roast Chicken…" Little Di Tai said.
What Little Di Tai said had shocked the judges.
"Why?" The two judges exchanged looks and saw the strange gleam in each other's eyes.
"There are two points… First, the Nine Turn Roast Chicken has a profound and exquisite taste. The Scarlet Fiery Roast Chicken just has flame in it. At first glance, it looks somewhat innovative, but it's actually just an old trick. The second one… The Nine Turn Roast Chicken is delicious. Well, it's the most direct reason anyway." Little Di Tai clasped his hands, speaking in a firm and solemn voice.
However, as soon as Little Di Tai finished speaking, Zhou Kuangliu's face reddened, shouting, "You know nothing! My Scarlet Fiery Roast Chicken can't lose! You just came here to get a free meal, right? Then get your meal. You got nothing to act like a judge and evaluate dishes!"
His dish in Little Di Tai's mouth turned out to be worth nothing. How could he swallow this anger?!
Bu Fang looked at Zhou Kuangliu, feeling a bit surprised. That fellow… did have big guts.
He dared to say that the Realm Lord came here to mooch a meal.
Although Little Di Tai wasn't the real body of the Realm Lord, no matter what, the Realm Lord was the only High Grade Qilin Chef of the Immortal Cooking Realm.
A Qilin Chef was more than capable of judging an Immortal Chef's dish…
Little Di Tai narrowed his eyes. "You dare question me? Good… You're eliminated!"
Little Di Tai's wings flapped as he jumped to the table. With both hands on his waist, his crotch radiated divine light.
Zhou Kuangliu's face turned gray.
The other two judges couldn't stand it.
"Okay, I will taste Dongfang Huo's dish, and you should try this Scarlet Fiery Roast Chicken…"
The two judges decided to taste the dish themselves. Then, they respectively took a chicken wing and ate.
While chewing, their eyes brightened.
At this moment, their eyes looking at Little Di Tai had changed.
Little Di Tai's assessment… was precise. It could be said to be a perfect assessment.
They hadn't thought that this little beggar did have some sense.
Eventually, the judges made their decision.
"Scarlet Fiery Roast Chicken versus Nine Turn Roast Chicken. The winner is… Nine Turn Roast Chicken."
The other two judges couldn't help but try the dishes as well. They seemed to forget that they had decided that one judge would try one dish only.
Zhou Kuangliu's face changed. He couldn't believe it.
"I… lost?!"
Zhou Kuangliu felt so upset. That little beggar got it right!
"Good, let's move to the next dish…"
"Contestant Bu Fang's… Abyssal Stone Pot Fighting Chicken."
The judges didn't care about Zhou Kuangliu anymore. They had met a lot of this sort of loser, so there was nothing to surprise them.
Their eyes turned to the blood-colored marble pot.
This dish was the only one that didn't use the whole chicken in this chicken-themed round of the tournament.
Actually, the judges didn't really appreciate Bu Fang's food.
In their opinion, cutting the chicken into cubes before cooking was a bad cooking method. This would destroy the texture of the chicken, either in some parts or as a whole. It would also drain the essence of the meat…
Anyway, they couldn't just say that Bu Fang lost this match without tasting his dish. It wasn't the judges' style.
And so, the four judges, including Little Di Tai walked over to the Abyssal Stone Pot Fighting Chicken.
The five judges exchanged looks before they grabbed their chopsticks, picking up a cube of chicken meat in the pot.
The chicken meat in the pot radiated dazzling light, which shot up into the sky. Aromas and immortal energy wound around it.
Aside from the chicken's meaty aroma, they could also sense the peppers and chilies' fragrance…
"This pepper… looks strange."
"Well… Perhaps he fermented it. It smells a little sour, but this kind of smell is mouth-watering."
"No matter what it is, this recipe and ingredients… aren't bad at all!"
Before the judges ate the food, they had confirmed the elements of the dish.
The pickled pepper seemed to change their point of view.
The Immortal Cooking Realm also had peppers, but they didn't make pickled peppers. That was because the Immortal Cooking Realm wasn't really interested in spicy foods.
Little Di Tai didn't care about many things like that. He had yearned for Bu Fang's food for quite a long time.
He used his chopsticks, but because of his small hands, his chopsticks couldn't grab the chicken cube.
Clang.
Little Di Tai was irritated, throwing his chopsticks aside and directly reached his hand into the pot. After grabbing a chicken cube with two fingers, he promptly shoved it into his mouth.
As soon as the food got in his mouth, he was completely stunned.
His eyes opened wide, and his face turned red at a speed naked eyes could see!
Shortly after, his reddened face turned purple!
Seeing this reaction, the other judges hurriedly grabbed the strange-colored but shining chicken cubes, putting it into their mouths.
Right after that…
The four judges froze.
Beyond the stage, the audience could see each judge's facial expression through the big light screen. They all held their breaths.
They were so curious…
What kind of a dish did the Great Demon King cook?